Celtic Manor’s Pond Gets Makeover with New Otterbine Fountain

Story published at 10:53, Monday, July 13th, 2015

Noel O’Connell, Assistant Head of Irrigation and Special Projects, left, and Jim McKenzie MBE, Director of Golf Courses and Estate Management, with the new Otterbine water feature installed in the pond outside the Celtic Manor lodge golf clubhouse

The Celtic Manor Resort, in Newport, South Wales, has boosted the aesthetic of its Golf Clubhouse front with the addition of a new Otterbine water feature.

Installed in the resort’s two-tiered ornamental pond in front of the clubhouse, where two of the world-class golf destination’s three championship courses start from, the ½hp Fractional Aerating Fountain and Mixer Series has been fitted with a 2 LED Light Set.

Also providing aeration by introducing oxygen into the water column, the Fractional Series takes care of water quality management needs, but for Jim McKenzie MBE, Celtic Manor’s Director of Golf Courses and Estates Management, the fountain choice was centred on aesthetic appeal.

“It’s made a great impact visually,” he says. “It has two tiers, a waterfall and lights – which all looks fantastic, especially at night.”

And the new fountain isn’t only impressing the golfers, says Jim. “As well as our three championship courses – The Twenty Ten, Roman Road and The Montgomerie – The Celtic Manor Resort also has 400 hotel rooms, so the addition doubles up as a feature for our other guests, and has even become a popular backdrop for wedding photography.”

Aside from aesthetic appeal, another key reason for deciding on Otterbine was the resort’s strong relationship with Otterbine distributor Lely UK, also sole distributors of Toro in the UK.

Jim explains: “One of the main reasons for choosing Otterbine was the great relationship we have with Lely – we’re 100 per cent Toro here, with a full fleet of Toro mowers and utility equipment. We have been working with Lely for 23 years and have invested over £1 million with them over that time!”

This latest investment however, was not large. In fact, Jim says he was pleasantly surprised by the price. “It wasn’t expensive and has really boosted the look of the Golf Clubhouse. We have a couple of large lakes under development at the moment, so will definitely be looking into investing more heavily in Otterbine equipment in the near future.”